Meditation, in its most basic form, has been around for eons. In fact, man, has always, even during his most instinctual struggle for survival, found the time to sit, to question, and to ponder on his innermost thoughts and at its core that is exactly what meditation entails – to focus inward.
Some of the earliest recorded meditation practices come from the Hindu traditions of Vedantism and date to around 1500BCE. Meditation, in all its various forms and practices has become an integral part of many philosophies, religions and ways-of-life, over the millennia. One could argue that the purpose of meditation, as defined by many of these early practitioners, is the concept of “following the path to enlightenment” and “self-realization”. This is certainly the case in the Hindu and Buddhist practices, which we have covered in earlier blogs. Even Christianity, in the Psalms, instructs us to; “be still and know that I am God.” Being still and focusing inwards is and continues to be a vital ingredient of a happy and heart-filled life.
In today’s frantic-paced world, however, meditation has been seen and used much more as a way of cutting ourselves off from the hectic daily happenings and simply allowing ourselves to find peace and contentment. Some of today’s practitioners, it seems, are more interested in meditation to help reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, whilst simultaneously boosting peace, well-being, perception, self-worth and general relaxation. Today, I want to focus particularly on meditation from the perspective of “New Thought” teaching, where it does play a vital role in establishing a degree of control over our thoughts, emotions, and ultimately, our actions.
Within the New Thought philosophy the concept of meditation is extremely important.
Five Excellent Reasons to Meditate:
- Meditation assists us to live in the present: Many people flitter through their days in an almost catatonic state, unaware of much that is happening around them. They miss all the amazing beauty that surrounds them as they wander along, their noses buried in their electronic devices or inside their own minds, regretting their past actions or worrying about the future circumstances. We need to be aware of what is happening around us, now, today and meditation is a wonderful key to unlock that awakening in our minds.
- Our minds are always working at 100 miles an hour: Our minds are like a never-ending chatterbox, filled with thoughts and mindless noise. This endless chatter ultimately brings us boredom, frustration, and dissatisfaction. Meditation allows us to take control of our minds, to focus inwardly and to experience the wonderful peace and serenity of the silence and stillness within.
When the mind is under control – amazing things begin to happen: If we can train our mind, through meditation, to be conscious of just one thing, for example our breathing, incredible things begin to happen – the mind becomes malleable, we begin to control our thoughts and the mindless chatter grinds to a halt- [albeit not necessarily for long periods but equally that’s fine.] A new, powerful, and mindful awareness will become part of our day-to-day activities. A peaceful mind is one of the key elements to achieving the happy and heart-felt life I spoke of earlier.- When we have control of our mind, we can then control our emotions and feelings: this is an enormous benefit. Most people have no control over their emotions and feelings – they react to circumstances only. By controlling your emotions and feelings, you can CREATE your own circumstances. Remember, always, that YOU are NOT your mind and YOU are NOT your thoughts. Your mind, your thoughts, and your emotions are merely tools for you to use to create your own reality – not the other way around.
- Science has proven that meditation impacts our consciousness in a measurable way: Consciousness Research is still in its infancy and will doubtless provide us with illuminating discoveries in the future but already the study of theta and delta brainwaves has shown the incredible impact meditation can have on our creativity, our memory and even our dreams. The future is exciting.
How Do I Start With Meditation?
There are many misconceptions about meditation. No, you don’t need to get yourself into your yoga pants, bend yourself into the “lotus” position and chant “Ohm…Ohm…Ohm…” endlessly. Once you make the leap into meditation, I have no doubt you will want to know more and want to experience more – and that’s great, but initially you can begin to meditate incredibly simply and even within the confines of your own bed if that’s what you want. Here’s what I would suggest to get yourself started down this amazing and fulfilling road.
- Set your alarm clock, so that you wake up 10, 20, 30 minutes earlier than normal (the time depends on you – you will probably extend it once you start to realize the immense benefits).
- When you first wake up in the morning, don’t crawl groggily out of bed, check your phone and then stumble to the kitchen to prepare your first coffee of the day.
- Instead, sit up in bed, or find a comfortable, quiet place where you won’t be disturbed (especially if you have a partner beside you). It is important that the temperature is comfortable for you – too hot, or too cold, will potentially distract you.
There are as many meditation techniques as there are practitioners, so just do whatever feels comfortable for you. For a beginner, I’d suggest focusing on your breathing. Listen to it going in and out of your lungs, feel the oxygen, from your breath, flowing through your bloodstream, from your brain to the very tips of your toes, and then returning to be re-oxygenated, again, in your lungs. Just spend ten minutes focusing on your breathing. There are also many apps. available that can help you to meditate, or conversely you may want to try repeating a mantra. Remember, there is no right or wrong way, it is whatever works best for you, so do experiment.- There’s a reason it is called “practicing” meditation. It can feel uncomfortable or difficult initially, perhaps even unsuccessful, but DON’T give up, keep trying until you find what works for you. Consistency is the key – before long, missing a meditation session will seem like your day is not right, that something is missing.
There are oodles of information on meditation on the web but if you want some good, solid, information on meditation, you can find it here on my own website, resources page: https://www.moneymagnet.global/resources/
HeartMath – A World First:
“Dare to connect with your heart. You will be lifting not only yourself and those you love and care about, but also the world in which you live.”
Doc Childre, HeartMath Founder
Before I finish today, I just want to let you know about a world-first experiment by HeartMath on raising global consciousness and peace though meditation. It is taking place on May 11th and 12th 2019.
World First! Join the experiment and create collective coherence for Peace!
The HeartMath Institute has launched a new Global Coherence app! For the first time it is possible to measure both your individual coherence and the collective coherence of a group of people practicing at the same time – either together, in the same location, or individually, anywhere in the world!
And to launch the Global Coherence app, we’re inviting you to take part in an amazing world-first experiment. We want to measure the collective coherence of hundreds, if not thousands of people across the world participating in MOMM – Moments of Mass Mindfulness.
We’d love you to join in the meditations while using your Inner Balance with the Global Coherence app. There are two opportunities to take part:
MOMM UK: Saturday 11th May 12:00-13:00 BST (11:00-12:00 UCT)
MOMM Global: Sunday 12th May 15:00-16:00 BST (14:00-15:00 UCT)
Here’s how to take part:
- Download the new Global Coherence app from the Apple AppStore or Google Play.
- Create an account and connect your Inner Balance.Join the special MOMM group – the access code is BlueWind81
- At the start of the meditations on the 11th and 12th May 2019, open the app, connect to the MOMM group, turn on your Inner Balance and take part in the meditation and exciting experiment.
- Here’s a simple and handy “how to” video: https://www.mommworld.org/appdownload
To find out more about MOMM visit: https://www.mommworld.org
We hope you’ll join us in this unique opportunity to play an active role in raising global consciousness. And to measure our collective coherence too!
Here’s some more information about how you can get involved in MOMM:
- Participate individually in one or both of the UK and Global meditations from wherever you will be at the time. We want you in the masses and we want you to use your Inner Balance with the new Global Coherence app while you meditate so that you can play an active part in our world-first experiment to measure collective coherence!
- You could organise your own MOMM. This could be a small group of friends or family in your living room or outdoors. Please register your MOMM (even if it is a private event) here: https://www.mommworld.org/events
- Attend one of the many public events happening across the UK (11th May) and Globally (12th May). Check out the list of events here: https://www.mommworld.org/events
At the weekend:
As stated, there are two meditation events. The UK event is Saturday at 12pm British Summer Time. The Global event is Sunday at 3pm BST. Both last up to one hour.
We would love you to join BOTH, but if you can only join one then that’s just fine. The Global one is the most important for the experiment. And if you can’t commit to the full hour, don’t worry – any time you can commit will be wonderful.
Here’s some simple instructions:
- Join the meditation at the start time.
- Keep your phone/tablet turned on/connected to the mobile network/wi-fi but turn off your ringer and vibrate alert so that you do not get disturbed.
- As you join; open the GC app; turn on/connect your Inner Balance if you have one; tap on the MOMM group; join the session.
- Enjoy a Heart Focused meditation radiating peace, care and compassion to all peoples.
- Continue for up to one hour – but if you don’t have an hour to spare then whatever you can manage will have a positive impact.
- Don’t concern yourself if you find it a little hard to connect to the feelings. Focus on your heart/chest and keep breathing coherently (balanced, slowly, deeply but comfortably) and know that your intention towards peace, care and compassion, with or without the feeling, is important.
So, there we have it, a brief overview of meditation and its benefits. I do hope you’ll give it a try and I especially hope that you’ll check out the HeartMath experiment and let’s all make a world of difference in the furtherance of global peace – together we are powerful!
Having recently been on the Extinction Revolution protests in London with my lovely daughters – we did all make a difference – the UK government have declared that Climate Change is an Emergency and have appointed a Committee to reduce emissions to zero! Yi-Ha! Here, HeartMath are experimenting in a mass raising of global consciousness and peace through meditation – It’s Awesome! Please feel free to share it with as many people as you can.
LET’S MAKE A DIFFERENCE – TOGETHER!
If you enjoyed this Blog and would like to hear more spiritual and metaphysical issues plus lots more besides, please do join our website and you will receive a notice whenever a new blog is posted. You can join here:
If you would like to check out some of our previous blogs, please feel free. Here are the last five blogs we have published:
Reincarnation: New Thought Movement:
Reincarnation: Is It For Real?:
A Philosophical Colossus – Gautama Buddha
You may also like to check out my murder/mystery, “whodunit” novel, Spirit of Prophecy, which fictionalizes many of the concepts discussed in these blogs in a thrilling tale of murder, intrigue and romance set against the backdrop of the 3-Day-Event, horse community. You can find a link to this wonderful novel, here:
